[IMA-HelenT]

Answer:

Dental X-rays do serve a purpose by revealing oral/dental problems not visible on a visual exam. This is intended to allow timely, less invasive treatment by preventing extreme tooth damage / loss or more serious complications.

It is always good to have a full understanding of the reasoning for certain x-rays. Ask questions such as :

– Why are x-rays needed today?

– When were my previous x-rays and can we use or request those first?

– Is it possible to do the assessment and treatment without this x-ray ?

– Do you use digital sensors rather than film ?

Your dentist should be able to answer your questions to your satisfaction in order to proceed if you choose to.

Clinics use digital sensors rather than film. However it’s always good to ask if digital x-rays are done in that clinic. Digital use has decreased the radiation exposure by 40-80%+.

The health advisory boards have said that protective lead aprons used to cover the torso & thyroid are no longer needed. Personally, I would request to use them. The purpose is to protect the body incase the x-ray head gets moved accidentally. Certainly, treating children I take no risks with their health. Scatter from an x-ray machine is virtually non-existent but the way a machine is handled is always a concern.

Some x-ray machines are mobile and if they are not locked before taking an x-ray, the machine can drift as the operator goes to take the x-ray.

Having protection is an asset if that error happens.

Inspire of the knowledge that the radiation exposure from a dental x-ray is considered marginal, radiation exposure is cumulative. Decision to have an x-ray should be very individual, not the rote answer that the dentist takes x-rays at set intervals. Authorize care that makes sense to you. You are ultimately the guardian of your own health.

[lavitavegas]

Daughter of a dentist here, never once had a cavity. Unfortunately, since moving to NV, I now have come to learn that despite “Authorize care that makes sense to you. You are ultimately the guardian of your own health.”… it is a state law that dentists have to perf x-rays once a year, whether you need them or not. As with so much of “health” “care”… lobbying and Big Insurance ALWAYS trumps patient-centered care.

[IMA-HelenT]

Yes to being active in taking care of your health.

Yes, It certainly feels like a war, us against lobbying and big insurance.

[lavitavegas]

But see, herein lies the problem… so many practitioners are making good money on lobbying for annual xrays whether patients need them or not… so, why would this ever end? It won’t.

I used to get my teeth cleaned diligently every 6 months… now, I figure I’ll go every 2 years, just to avoid xrays which I do not need.

[IMA-HelenT]

Can you go to a dental hygenist not the dentist, and avoid the Xray this way?